18 The glassware trade, which fell oh greatly during the earlier years of the war, increased in 1918 to twice the 1913 value, though the quantity was still in deficiency; the chief importer was Japan, followed by Spain and the United Kingdom.

In 1913 the value of the kerosene imported was 572,069, of which £E. 421,028 came from Koumania, £E, 145,663 from Russia, and only £E. 5,378 from the United States. By 1916 the United States had obtained the first place with £E. 811,468 out of a total import of £E. 897,727, and other countries in the Far East provided £E. 85,405, but in 1918 the whole of the imported kerosene, amounting to 76,854 tons to the value of £E. 817,612, came from crude petroleum from the Far East, which was distilled at the Suez Refinery, with the exception of 1,380 cases, which came from the United Kingdom.

Though there was a certain impoj.’tation of live animals from Tripoli in 1918, the place of Turkey as a supplier of animals and fruits was not taken by any other country.

The match trade has largely changed hands. In 1913, out of a total of £E. 81,368, Sweden, Austria and Italy supplied matches to the values of £E. 39,060, £E. 23,727 and £E. 12,141 respectively. Sweden remained tlie chief importei' until 1916, but in 1917 the imports from Italy were £E. 102,774, from Sweden £E. 62,058, and from Japan £E. 56,525. In 1918 Japan took the first place with £E. 288,778, followed by Sweden with £E. 114,278. The pi’ice of matches had by this time increased six-fold since 1913.

The value of the imports ofu’ags, jjaper and printed matter has greatly increased, and the sources of supply have varied. In 1913 these articles, of which the total value was £E. 437,333, wk’e jnainly furnished by Austria and the United Kingdom, and to a less extent by France, Germany and Italy. In 1915, 1916 and 1917 Italy was the chief supplier, followed in order of importance by the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Sweden and Holland. In 1918 the value reached £E. 1,658,666, of which the United Kingdom provided £E. 727,740, Italy £E. 306,568, Japan £E. 160,414, Holland £E. 124,657, and France £E. 105,781.

The outbreak of war was followed by a decrease in the quantity of tobacco imported, which fell from 9,030,003 kilog. in 1913 to 6,756,834 kilog. in 1917, and rose again to 7,020,559 kilog. in. 1918. A noteworthy feature is the increase in the quantity of manufactured tobacco imported, which rose from 62,987 kilog. in 1913 to 356,906 kilog. in 1916 and fell again to 149,006 kilog. in 1918. This fluctuation is doubtless due to the presence of tlie British troops in the country. In 1913 Egypt obtained most of her tobacco from Greece, Turkey and Russia. The following table shows how the import of tobacco was affected by the war and how the place of Turkey and Russia was taken by China, British India and Japan :— 1913. 19M. 191.'). 1916. 1917. 1918.

Greece Turkey Russia China British India Japan Kilog. 3,354,290 2,972,643 1,953,438 66,480 22.960 Kilog. 3,432,871 2,072,947 1,583,378 30,882 13,747 Kilog. 5,219,526 1,006,806 282,087 89,261 24,502 19 Kilog. 6,573,916 552,492 68,490 255,131 41,334 43 Kilog. 4,330.634 165,067 13,733 733,556 453,448 268,910 Kilog. 3,369,686 35,049 3,642 1,837,141 641,165 674,260 It is interesting to trace the variations in price in Egypt’s most important import, cotton piece goods, during the war. The tariff for these goods is fixed periodically by the Customs Administration in agreement with the principal importers. The tariff in force at the outbreak of war, having expired on the 31st January, 1915, was replaced by a new tariff nearly 10 per cent, lower; but in June 1915 prices rose again to their pre-war level, and this increase continued until prices were approximately doubled in July 1917, trebled in March 1918, and finally reached their maximum, just before the armistice, at about four times the pre-war figure. A decline in prices occurred at last in February 1919, but it was not maintained.

High freights and difficulties in obtaining space for cargo led to a large increase in the number of parcels arriving through the post. Many firms received hundreds of parcels at a time in this way, the slight increase in cost being more than compensated by rapidity and comparative certainty of delivery. The value of all the parcels sent through the post in 1913 was £E. 967,284; it increased to £E. 1,324,997 in 1917 House of Commons Parliamentary Papers Online. Copyright (c) 2006 ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.